Almost every Indian home has a strip of Dolo 650 or Crocin in a drawer, and when a dog is hot, limping or off their food, it is the obvious thing to reach for. This guide explains why that is risky for dogs and dangerous for cats, which common tablets are worse, and exactly what to do if your pet has already swallowed one.
Dogs: do not give paracetamol unless a vet has examined your dog and told you the exact dose. Vets do sometimes use paracetamol in dogs, but a tablet made for a 60 kg adult is the wrong starting point for a 10 kg dog, and the gap between a helpful dose and a harmful one is narrower than people assume.
Cats: never. There is no safe home dose of paracetamol for a cat.
Other human painkillers, especially ibuprofen and diclofenac, are more dangerous for dogs than paracetamol, not less.
Cats lack enough of the liver enzyme that most animals use to clear paracetamol safely. The drug is instead converted into a toxic by-product that damages red blood cells, so they can no longer carry oxygen properly, and injures the liver.
The practical consequence is stark: a fraction of a single tablet can kill a cat. This is not a matter of overdose. It is the drug itself. If there is any chance your cat has licked, chewed or swallowed paracetamol, treat it as an emergency.
Dogs handle paracetamol better than cats, which is why vets occasionally prescribe it. The trouble is almost always the dose.
| What goes wrong | Why it happens |
|---|---|
| A small dog gets a large dose | Dolo 650 is 650 mg. A tablet sized for an adult human is a very different amount of drug for a Shih Tzu than for a Labrador. |
| Doses are repeated | People give another tablet a few hours later because the first did not seem to work, and the total climbs past what the liver can handle. |
| The wrong combination tablet | Many cold and pain tablets combine paracetamol with ibuprofen or other drugs. Combiflam is the common example. |
| The real cause is hidden | Fever and pain are symptoms. Masking them at home can delay treatment of tick fever, infection or an injury that needed a vet. |
An overdose damages the liver and, at higher amounts, the red blood cells, the same way it does in cats. Signs can take hours to show.
Most of the risk comes from not realising what a familiar tablet actually contains.
| Brand | Active drug | Risk to pets |
|---|---|---|
| Dolo 650, Crocin, Calpol | Paracetamol | Dangerous for cats at any amount. Risky for dogs without a vet dose. |
| Combiflam | Ibuprofen plus paracetamol | High for both. Two drugs, two ways to cause harm. |
| Brufen | Ibuprofen | High. Stomach ulcers and kidney failure in dogs. |
| Voveran | Diclofenac | High. Same class of risk as ibuprofen. |
| Disprin | Aspirin | High for cats, risky for dogs. Bleeding and stomach damage. |
| Meftal | Mefenamic acid | High. Same drug family as ibuprofen. |
| Nise | Nimesulide | High. Same drug family as ibuprofen. |
If a tablet is not on this list, assume it is unsafe until a vet says otherwise, and check the strip for combination ingredients.
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A video consultation can help you decide how urgent it is if you genuinely cannot reach a clinic quickly, but for a cat and paracetamol, the answer will be to go in.
Treatment usually means inducing vomiting if it is early enough, activated charcoal, an antidote for paracetamol, blood tests, fluids and monitoring. Using the ranges from our vet cost guide:
| Item | Typical 2026 range |
|---|---|
| Emergency consultation | ₹800 – ₹2,500 |
| Blood count and biochemistry | ₹2,000 – ₹4,700 |
| Hospitalisation (per day) | ₹1,500 – ₹4,000 |
A caught-early case might be a few thousand rupees. A cat that needs several days in hospital can run well past ₹15,000. Either way, calling a vet before giving any tablet costs far less than treating the poisoning afterwards.
Not without a vet telling you to, and not a human tablet. Vets occasionally prescribe paracetamol for dogs at a dose worked out for that dog's weight, but a Dolo 650 or Crocin tablet is sized for an adult human, and a small dog can reach a toxic dose from a single tablet. Call a vet first.
No. Paracetamol is one of the most dangerous common medicines for cats. Cats cannot break it down safely, and even a small piece of one tablet can be fatal. If your cat has eaten any paracetamol, treat it as an emergency and go to a vet immediately.
Call a vet or go to an emergency clinic now, even if your dog seems fine. Note the tablet name, strength, how many are missing and roughly when it happened, and take the strip with you. Do not try to make your dog vomit unless a vet tells you to.
No. Combiflam contains ibuprofen as well as paracetamol, and Brufen is ibuprofen. Ibuprofen can cause stomach ulcers and kidney failure in dogs at doses that are safe for people. Diclofenac (Voveran), aspirin (Disprin), naproxen, nimesulide and mefenamic acid (Meftal) carry similar risks.
Nothing from your own medicine box. Keep your dog rested, comfortable and hydrated, and get a vet to examine them. Vets use painkillers made and dosed for dogs, such as meloxicam or carprofen, after checking the kidneys, liver and the cause of the pain.
A dog's normal temperature is roughly 38.3°C to 39.2°C, measured rectally with a digital thermometer. Warm ears or a dry nose are not reliable signs. A temperature above about 39.5°C, or any fever with lethargy, vomiting or not eating, needs a vet.
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